aisha rasheed cares about education. more than ten years ago as a new college grad she started working for the local new orleans paper, the times picayune. she was assigned the education beat. she was shocked to learn about the dismal condition of the schools. she left the paper in 2005 to improve the system through advocacy. then hurricane katrina hit. and in the aftermath many reformers were determined to fix the broken system with a new one that relies heavily on charter schools. the system has some benefits, but it came at the cost of neighborhood schools. teachers were dispersed and leaders left, buildings were closed and schools that people had never heard of emerged while long-time community institutions were replaced. families were left with questions. which schools were open, which ones required applications? is there any transportation? and most importantly, which schools are performing? and there was no one source for parents to get the answers. until aisha lit a can knelt dark maze of a disconnected system. s